Starbucks

Since adding the drive through, service is crawling. Would be better suited to have an abbreviated menu for drive through items.

Oh my God! Ever since they put a drive thru in this place it’s gone to s@!t. The baristas here don’t even try. Right now two people in line for an order, twelve people wiring to get coffee. Not atypical for this «upgraded» location.

I used to LOVE this Starbucks. I basically lived there for 20 hours a week studying for law exams and then the bar exam. They had plenty of tables to work on, and also had comfortable chairs for when you wanted to lean back and read a book. The layout was open and airy with room for patrons to wait in line without being on top of you as you sit down and have your coffee. They also had a fireplace!
THEN THE RENOVATION HAPPENED.
They added a drive-​thru and rearranged the entire interior of the store. Now there’s bar-​style seating and only ¼ of the tables are left. They put tall merchandise displays in the middle of the store, which makes the space very narrow and difficult to maneuver around. I have a family member in a wheelchair, and I used to enjoy taking her to Starbucks for a coffee and scone. We’d sit and chat for an hour or two. I can’t do this anymore because the place is too tight for her to maneuver her wheelchair. And every time we go inside, there’s never a table to sit at because the 4 tiny tables they do have are always taken. They have a weird large table by the front door now, but I dislike sitting there because it’s too large for one party. It’s like communal seating. I don’t enjoy having a conversation with someone when I’m made to sit directly across from some stranger. The separate tables created the illusion of privacy and personal space. I’m not a fan of communal tables.
Now I’ll comment on the new outside seating. I am not sure whose bright idea it was to create outside seating RIGHT NEXT TO the drive-​thru, but SHAME on that person for this really awful idea. I tried sitting outside at these tables during the nice weather, and it was AWFUL! The drive-​thru is busy, and the cars sit idling right next to your table. If you don’t enjoy the smell of car fumes and the sound of idling engines, you won’t like the outside seating. It boggles my mind why they didn’t put the outside seating on the opposite side of the drive-​thru.
All in all, they killed my love for this Starbucks with a thoughtless renovation. I haven’t gone there in over a year.

This Starbucks has the best floor plan that I have ever seen. Lots of indoor seating and if the weather is good, you can sit on the outside patio. Lots of parking and they also have a drive thru, which is great. What stops this place from being 5 stars is the immature staff and noise level. The staff seems to have fun, which I like to see, but they have «too» much fun and it becomes off putting as a customer. Every time I come here, there are always off-​clock employees hanging out and having loud, obnoxious conversations with the on duty staff. They also stand by the counter while they talk and you can’t get by them. My other complaint is the intense volume of the music. Sometimes the volume level is acceptable, but most of the time it is so loud, I get a headache. I really hope management will read this and make some changes, so they can be the best Starbucks in the area.

Stopped by since I was in the area doing some shopping. I haven’t been to this Starbucks in years having moved away to Jersey. I really like the renovations they have done. It’s really cozy inside with the fireplace. There is ample sitting space for everyone who wants to study. The best part is the drive thru!!! We do not have that in Jersey. I am extremely jealous of it. I went inside since the drive thru line seemed kind of long. There were plenty of ppl studying but the actual line to get drinks was pretty short. Drinks were made with speed and precision. I am a Starbucks fanatic and I am a fan of this location. I assume they have outdoor seating in the summer months since there is an area for it.

I don’t know what these negative review people are talking about.
This Starbucks is awesome. The best part is the drive-​thru. Order your drink, drive up to the window, pay, and your drink is waiting for you. I have NO idea how they do it so fast. And so friendly! Coffee always perfect.
You go, Orange Starbucks.

Awful! Waited several minutes and not acknowledged, barista rude, made drink wrong then looked at us like I was crazy! Place was dirty, floor messy, bar area needed a wiping full of powder and sugar. Won’t be back here

I would like to begin with the fact that I am a culinary school graduate and I have more than a decade experience working in professional kitchens. I tell you this because my comments are not just from a customer’s perspective, but from someone who has lived, breathed and understands the food service industry.
In the interest of being forthcoming I will say that I don’t visit your locations on a daily basis because typically I do not find the level of customer service and the standard of quality meets the cost you demand of your product. However when in the mood for an anticipated exceptional cup of coffee, I make the exception. With that exception does come a higher expectation for a superior product and service to match.
On Sunday afternoon somewhere between 3pm and 4pm on 15 March, my wife and I visited your Orange, Connecticut location. It was a busy afternoon with a lot of customers sitting inside. We got into line where there were three people in front of us at the register. Suddenly the woman behind the pick-​up counter rudely shouted at us «The line starts along the other wall people.»
As we got closer to the register where we placed our order, I could see that there was a coffee spill on the counter. One customer ordered and paid, two customers ordered and paid, three customers ordered and paid, yet not once did the cashier grab a cloth and attempt to clean up the mess. We placed our order and went to the pick-​up area which was a disgusting mess all around. The chef in me should have said get out now, but we already paid and they had already started making my wife’s frappé.
Directly in front of us someone had spilled the straws on the floor. If everyone was working behind the counter it may have been excusable, but there was an obvious employee sitting down, texting just ignoring the filth around him. It was just the straws though. Within three feet of the straws on the floor was the milk station with was cluttered with trash and powdered cinnamon and spilled milk covered the countertop. It was at this time I said to my wife we should take a picture for Facebook.
Just then a frappé came sliding across the short counter much in the style of the old west where a beer slid across the bar at a saloon and the woman shouted «Frappé». I watched her as she then filled the dirty blender with ice and other ingredients for our second frappé. Her station was a mess with unknown liquids covering the counter and not a cloth in sight. I saw her take the top of the blender and literally shake off the liquid that was inside on the floor before putting it back on the already dirty bottom to blend my frappé.
She must have seen my wife taking the picture because she began talking with the employee who was texting. I believe her comment was «We’re going to be on the news». It quickly became apparent that she was talking about us when he stopped texting, stood up and said «But they literally just fell over» as if two kids were getting their story straight before mom came home. She then shouted «Frappé» again and my cup slid down the bar. We refused to stay at this point, took our drinks and left.
Just after 8pm I suddenly began to get sharp pains in my stomach that quickly turned into diarrhea and later vomiting. I had not eaten lunch or breakfast that day, only a cup of coffee from my own kitchen and the frappé from your Starbucks. I truly believe that Starbucks poor sanitation practices resulted in some cross contamination and gave me a low level of food poisoning. My wife and I are amazed that an establishment like Starbucks conducts business in this manner, I guess things had changed since the last time I visited.
My advice to you would be to revisit some ServSafe Certifications before you seriously kill someone. Foodborne pathogens thrive in exactly the environment that I witnessed. You can also contact Cintas in Branford to get set up with a towel program so IF your employees intend to clean, they have the tools necessary to do so and if your employees work in these conditions and talk to customers in such a manner, then they don’t care about you or your business and don’t deserve the opportunity of employment.
In conclusion I am curious as to why I should ever consider returning to Starbucks? I have been mistreated, mocked and made sick — Is this the type of experience patron can expect from Starbucks now? If so, I hear that Cumberland Farms offers a tasty cup of coffee in a clean environment for only $.99.

Dear Starbucks — I hate you for taking away seasonal flavors w no notice. Pumpkin spice is the only beverage I drink of yours and it infuriates me (yes I am that passionate) that it is gone already. Last year it was available until April. There is no rhyme or reason for upsetting a good paying customer like me over a bottle of flavored syrup. Start planning things out and stock up. Seasonal is passé. Get w the program. Make me happy. Your store could not even make a comparable suggestion so my Five Bucks walked to Dunkin Donuts.

¹²⁄₁₅ update– paid 3 different prices for the same drink. venti mocha iced coffee with soy. The first time, $ 3.14. The second time, $ 3.78. The third time, $ 4.41. It was the same guy. Each time it was a different excuse– mocha is extra, soy is extra. Um, no. If you are charged for soy for a coffee or an iced coffee, you are being overcharged. I wish I had receipts. Shit like that grinds my gears– I wonder how many times he’s gotten away with it.

I went during the holiday special of buy one get one free from 2pm-​5pm (6pm for starbucks memebers, which i am). I went at 4:50pm and said i wanted the praline and peppermint mocha one but was never asked HOW i wanted it. So when she finished my order i noticed it was hot cups that she was using to write down my name i asked the barista if she could change them to frap. So she called her manager which he had a bit of an attitude. He then said not to give out the special since it was past 5:00pm. He changed the order to fraps. And i informed the barista that people registered had the special until 6:00pm. She did not know that which means i would’ve ended up paying more if i was in a few minutes later. They should really inform their staff how the specials work. I waited around 35 minutes for my frap. It is unbelievable. I have never been to a starbucks that took so damn long. Yes there was a long line but it seems like the people that were behind me were getting their drinks first.

This is my favorite of the local Starbucks. The staff is amazing and personable. They know your name and they’re very accommodating. A few minor problems in the transition to drive through, but overall great!

This is, in my opinion, the best Starbucks in the state. Why? Amazing staff, ample parking, roomy interior, solid drinks and oh, did I mention the amazing staff?
Sometimes, when you come here on a warm night you can see groups of young locals gathering by their cars in the parking lot, laughing and talking above the oceanic drone of the Post Road.
This is a good place. When you stand in line waiting for your drink at this undeniably corporate location you still somehow feel a kind of nostalgia and strange camaraderie permeating the space.
Look around. The people by the hokey late-​90s style fireplace look like they have been here for such a long time. The barista knows your name and it’s like your second time here. When you go to other Starbucks you order a cappuccino and it is so full of milk it’s seriously just a latte with foam on top. Not here.
Here, you get a great drink and you feel almost as if you are going to cry for some reason. A sweet filament of cigarette smoke wafts from the parking lot where a group of twenty-​somethings laugh by a glittering car. The sun is bright and the coffee in your hand is so hot. It burns your lips in an almost endearing way, just as good times in the past can now seem so sad and so far off.
(Update: This Starbucks has been renovated and the fireplace is gone but now there is a drive-​thru, which is awesome)

This is by far the most user friendly Starbucks around. The layout is fantastic, the fireplace is a wonderful addition both aesthetically and for keeping warm during the winter, and the staff here are always friendly with very little turn over.
I often use this place as my go to meeting spot. If I ever want to just catch up with an old friend or need to talk business with someone, I head here. There is almost always ample space to sit and relax without feeling claustrophobic or like you’re sitting on someone’s lap.
The baristas here are super friendly and clearly all get along with each other, much like the one on the Post Rd next to the Milford Westfield Mall. They’re jovial and upbeat and don’t look unhappy to be in a service position. Very little turn over here which is nice to see and the place is always impeccably clean.
Stitch n B*tch usually takes place here for the Milford area on Tuesday nights, just so you aren’t deterred by the clicking of needles and skeins of yarn all over.

Busy outlet with a nice fireplace inside that stays lit during the colder months. This is the only Starbucks I know of with this feature. Usually have newspapers on the tables free to read and nice leather chairs if you can find an empty one. Good people watching spot as there’s always a steady stream of patrons on the weekends.

Love the fireplace! it’s always pretty quiet in here even when there are lots of people. Nice amount of space and tables for lap top usage. The staff are are always friendly, pleasant and patient. Free Wi fi

Yes I will freely admit that I am a Starbucks fanatic (got my gold card to prove it) so when I was looking for a place to go and hang my hat to enjoy some espresso on a recent January weekend afternoon before trekking back to Central Connecticut this magically appeared when I «Yelped It Out».
With the weather cold and brisk outside, it was a pleasure to step into the (although formulated) Starbucks oasis that boasted a toasty gas fireplace in the center of the store. The place was hopping but the Batista’s worked quickly and efficiently getting people in and out the door. My Café Americano was hot and well made — definitely consistent with what I get at my local Starbucks an hour away.
My only gripe would be the cleanliness of the tables and floor left a bit to be desired — I noticed dust bunnies on the floor and coffee ring stains on the tables. It was only as I was getting ready to leave (about two hours later) that it appeared on of the employees was making an attempt to get the store in order. I understand that this is a busy location but when you are paying for the Starbucks experience there are somethings that should not be overlooked even on a busy Saturday afternoon.

Nice SB location in Orange, always good to find one when in need of a Latte.

I’ve been to ‘Bucks all over the country. I really dislike this one. The staff are slow, non-​personable, and some times have downright attitude. At those prices? Uh uh.

Came here on a saturday to study. Actually I’m here writing the review as we speak. I really need to wake up and get all this work done.
Situated on boston post rd, the exterior of this place looks unlike any starbucks I’ve seen. Its in the middle of a plaza. Quite spacious.
Just your standard starbucks. The barristas could be a little friendlier. Free wifi is always good.
Now…back to waking the f*ck up.